@Article{info:doi/10.2196/35400,
author="Kaur, Jasleen
and Sharma, Priyanka
and Thami, G P
and Sethi, Maninder
and Kakar, Shruti",
title="Evaluation of Patient-Initiated Direct Care Mobile Phone--Based Teledermatology During The COVID-19 Pandemic",
journal="iproc",
year="2021",
month="Dec",
day="10",
volume="7",
number="1",
pages="e35400",
keywords="direct care teledermatology; teledermatology; hybrid teledermatology; patient satisfaction; physician confidence; COVID-19",
abstract="Background: With advances in telecommunication, especially smartphones, teledermatology services offered by specialists are now being directly requested by the patients themselves. This model is known as patient-initiated, direct care teledermatology. It has been pushed to the forefront due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine patients' satisfaction and dermatologists' confidence when a diagnosis was made via direct care mobile phone--based teledermatology. Methods: Patients availing direct care teledermatology services during the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary care center were subjected to a questionnaire within 5 days of the teleconsultation to assess patient satisfaction and opinions regarding using this model during and beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic. The dermatologists rated their confidence in making the clinical diagnosis on a scale from 1-10 for every case. Results: Of 437 participants, 419 (95.9{\%}) were satisfied with this mode of teledermatology. An overwhelming majority (n=428, 97.9{\%}) felt safe consulting the dermatologist via teleconsultation and not having to visit the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, 269 (61.6{\%}) patients agreed that they would be happy to use a teledermatology service beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The dermatologists' confidence score in making an accurate diagnosis ranged from 3 to 10, with a mean of 9.20 (SD 1.12). Conclusions: The high levels of patient satisfaction and dermatologists' confidence scores indicate that direct care mobile phone--based teledermatology may be a useful tool in providing dermatological services in appropriate settings and its use should continue to be explored beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Conflicts of Interest: None declared. ",
issn="2369-6893",
doi="10.2196/35400",
url="https://www.iproc.org/2021/1/e35400",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/35400"
}